Path 2

Path 2

Department of Inaccurate Iconography

February 2, 2009

What got me started on this rant was a banner that I keep seeing, featuring a hot dog. I suppose it’s intended to attract foodie tourists to the website. But where did that hot dog come from? It’s clearly not the slender, natural-skin weenie for which New York is famous, from its cart-vended “dirty water dogs,” to the esteemed products of Nathan’s and Katz’s.

No, the picture on the banner is clearly a bulbous, fake-skinned ballpark-type frank, the kind that is eaten in the rest of the country. Moreover, the frank is smeared with mustard and ketchup. No sauerkraut. No sauteed onions. It’s as if the artist had never seen a New York frank. I won’t even go into the artistic qualities of the banner. Actually–yes, I will. This thing is an eyesore, with jarring colors and annoying graphics. And was a ballpark frank the most iconic New York food image they could come up with?

And to any real foodie, visitor or denizen, the banner screams — Don’t eat here!